Mission Zero
Episode 5, Season 2 of War. Enjoy! Mission Zero We're still in the same camp. This isn't usual- after being in the army for a little more then half a moon, I've got the feel for the earth, for sleeping under the stars and not having to deal with more then six other cats at a time. Which is probably why my heart leaps a little when Silverflower plods into the den she, Shadowsong, and I have been sharing. "We have a mission." Shadowsong looks up, "They gave us a mission?" she meows. Her sarcasm is almost refreshing after half a moon without it. Silverflower sighed, "Unfortunately. Which is so sad, I was really hoping for a little bit of a romantic vacation, if you know what I mean." she winks and I purr. Shadowsong rolls her eyes, "I don't, thank StarClan. What's the mission?" Silverflower shrugs, "Adderscar didn't tell me." "And you didn't ask?" Silverflower flattens her ears slightly, "Why don't you go ask then? Maybe Oakclaw can tell you." Shadowsong stares at her for a moment, then stalks out of the den. Immediately, Silverflower begins to tear up, "I was too mean! Oh, I should go apologize." "It's fine-" I say, but she's already gone. Sighing, I pick myself up and head after my two denmates. The camp is still perfectly gorgeous, the dens all set back up from the FireClan attack a few days ago. The only contrast is a stark little grave by the river where a she-cat named Aquasplash lies. I pass it and bow my head before hurrying on. The rest of the squad is assembled in the center of the camp. Badgerstrike looks sleepy and grumpy, as usual while Oakclaw looks longingly at the prey pile. Silverflower is staring pleadingly at Shadowsong who stares straight ahead, jaw clenched. Adderscar sits beside the pretty silver she-cat looking smug. Gorsefur looks at me and waves his tail, which is an improvement over the past few days while he refused to speak with me. And all it took was a dead cat to change his mind. What a happy little family we are. "You're late," Badgerstrike growls. "What a happy little squirrel you are," I mutter. He gives me the stink-eye and I slouch over to sit between Oakclaw and Gorsefur. "As I was saying," Badgerstrike continues icily. "Since we disappointed the great Waterstar on our mission to kill Firestar, we've been left to stew in our own juices for a while. However, we have now been allowed to take another mission." "Which is?" Shadowsong growls, looking slightly more tense then usual. I don't blame her- if I'd been captured by FireClan, I'd probably feel the same way. "We get to go to the Silver Forest and get rid of a fox." Badgerstrike sighs. Immediately, Shadowsong, Oakclaw, and Gorsefur groan. Silverflower looks offended, "Don't do that! The Silver Forest is a perfectly serene, beautiful place and we should-" "For the last time, it's not named after you." Adderscar grumbles. "Why is this bad?" I ask cautiously. Sometimes- all the times- being the greenest on the squad is not fun. "It's for rookies," Oakclaw grumbles. Gorsefur, looking embarrassed as to have been so openly annoyed with a mission says nothing, but Shadowsong nods. "But, aren't we saving a camp from it or something?" I ask, confused. Adderscar shakes his head, "This is a rookie mission to take care of something that could become a threat. We're meant to feel humbled." I still feel a thrill. I've never actually seen a fox. But I've heard they're huge, with hundreds of teeth, and fur as red as blood. I think this might be fun. "Go clean up your nests. We leave right now." Badgerstrike commands, looking more then a little peeved. "It could be worse," Shadowsong mutters as we skulk away, "We could have had to attack FireClan again." I can't tell if she's being sarcastic or not. The last time I was in the Silver Forest, I was with Gorsefur, traveling to rescue some WaterClan prisoners. Less then a day later, we were rushing to try and save the rest of the squad from the trap that eventually caught Shadowsong and Gorsefur. I'm not sure what to expect this time. The forest is light, beams of sunlight making the forest floor glimmer slightly. The rain has left the ground muddy enough for the light to cause the droplets of water to glitter, but not enough to stain our paws. Already, I can see Silverflower gravitating to Adderscar, Oakclaw and Shadowsong grumbling in the back. Gorsefur walks a pawstep ahead of me. "Where is it?" Oakclaw finally asks after a long walk of silence. The Silver River is rushing to our right, the river we've followed since leaving the camp which sat on a tributary. "The fox?" Adderscar asks. "No, the purple squirrel. Aren't you supposed to be smart?" Adderscar bristles and Gorsefur sighs, "Girls, you're both pretty. The fox is somewhere around here, by the river. We haven't got an exact location." "Perfect," Oakclaw grumbles, "I love getting jumped in the forest by hungry foxes." "It's just one actually." Adderscar points out. "Thank you so much!" Oakclaw looks ready to pounce, but Badgerstrike halts, "Did you hear that?" Of course, all of us halt and listen. I find myself shaking slightly. Is it the fox? But they're so big! Where could it be hiding? There was this one tom who said they could turn themselves invisible, but no one really believed him... Oh StarClan I'm going to be killed by an invisible fox. The tension is unbearable. And then, Badgerstrike whips around and yowls, "Boo!" We all shriek like kits. Once we're done shrieking (or cursing in Oakclaw and Adderscar's case) Badgerstrike narrows his eyes, "All of you need to shut up. That's an order." We all simmer down and continue until Badgerstrike finds a large bush, "Set up camp here," he meows. We'll eat, Silverflower, try to find some herbs in case we get hurt, and then we'll start looking." Gorsefur and Oakclaw disappear into the forest together. Silverflower looks hopefully at Adderscar, but he ignores her, talking to Badgerstrike. Her tail droops and she heads off, alone. I wonder whether to go after her, but to be honest, I really don't want to listen to 'Adderscar left me' for the entire trip. Besides, she'll be fine. Probably. "You coming?" I look up to see Shadowsong waiting for me. Feeling a little flattered that she chose to wait for me rather then stalk off on her own, I trot over to her. "Good thing you have the sense not to go tromping off into a fox-wood all by yourself," she growls. "Although I can't say I'll be upset if Silverflower gets eaten." Since the she-cats usually humor a friendship, I assume she's still upset about this morning. I don't say anything. "Although it was a dirt move for Adderscar to leave her hanging. She clearly worships the ground he walks on. StarClan knows why. I mean, she's the pretty one and he's kind of a jerk. He should be the one groveling." "He's not that much of a jerk." Shadowsong rolls her gold eyes, "He thinks because he was drafted early and is generally considered the smartest cat in the Clan he's StarClan's chosen." "And Oakclaw doesn't like him," I meow teasingly. Shadowsong narrows her eyes at me, "Watch it rookie. I like you, but if you accidentally fall into a badger den..." "So there's nothing going on between you two?" I ask. "No." "Nothing, at all." I meow, whiskers twitching. "For the love of StarClan! Oakclaw spends most of his time either admiring himself or admiring whatever happens to be the closest she-cat, so if I did like him- which I don't- I would probably keep quiet about it!" "Oh," I meow. And then, just to bug her, I ask, "So do you like Gorsefur?" "Gorsefur is like my brother! Why do I have to like someone?" "There's three toms and three she-cats," I point out. "Makes sense." "And Badgerstrike." "He doesn't count." She snorts, "I'm glad we're friends." I giggle and then fall silent, "Did you hear that?" Shadowsong's eyes are wide, "Yes." We pelt off, after the sound of Silverflower's shriek. "That's the fox?!" I explode. Shadowsong licks the blood off her paws, "Sorry to disappoint you, but if it wasn't, Silverflower would probably be dead." "But-" I look at the small body on the ground. "It's just a cub!" "I wasn't really taught how to fight!" Silverflower wails apologetically. "Stupid kit stories," I growl. "Although it is strange that there would only be one fox..." Shadowsong meows haltingly, "Especially if it was young." My blood runs cold, "You think there are more?" Shadowsong nods her head, "It would make sense. There-" A low growl interrupts us. We all look up, Shadowsong instinctively stepping in front of Silverflower and I. It doesn't matter. The growls come from all around. Red muzzles peek out, amber eyes finding the blood on the cub and the blood on Shadowsong's paws. The growls increase. Silverflower breathes out, "A family." It does appear that way. A she-fox and a male and two younger male foxes, perhaps from an earlier litter. Shadowsong doesn't looked freaked out. "Silverflower," she meows, "Don't move. Do you have any herbs? Particularly smelly ones?" Silverflower starts to shake her head, then pauses, "Erm, no. Just some juniper." Shadowsong curses and I pipe up, "I have a squirrel." "Great." Shadowsong breathes out, "Chuck it at the foxes and run, alright?" "What? I don't-" "Go!" Shadowsong meows, turning and practically dragging Silverflower away from the clearing. I toss the mouse at the foxes and follow, my speed helping me evade the foxes snapping teeth. "You're insane!" I spit at Shadowsong. She laughs, "Climb a tree!" I scramble up an oak, not pausing until I'm halfway up the trunk. I see Shadowsong and Silverflower in the next tree. The two male foxes have pursued us, and stand at the trunks, making a yip/bark sound. "What now?" I call. "Nothing," Shadowsong calls back, "They'll get bored and leave." We wait for what feels like days. But finally, the foxes grow bored and leave. Shadowsong explains they're too dumb to be hiding and waiting to ambush us, so we slither to the ground. "I hate trees," Silverflower groans. "We have to warn the others," Shadowsong meows. "Four foxes is a lot for six cats, but we can think of something." She speeds away and we're about halfway to our make-shift camp when we hear loud voices. "Probably Gorsefur and Oakclaw," Shadowsong grumbles. She heads for the voices, breaking into a clearing. "You two had better-" She pauses and we are met with seven pairs of wide eyes. "Who are you?" Silverflower asks. "Who are you?" creamy she-cat counters. "Shadowsong, soldier, Brookfall, soldier, and Silverflower, medic, of WaterClan." Shadowsong recites, almost bored. "You?" The cream she-cat, who appears to be in charge, bares her white teeth, "Well, for starters, I'm Creamwhisker, Commander, of FireClan." Shadowsong takes a step back, obviously thrown off. The fear in her eyes is painful and I remember the battle at the camp by the river, Oakclaw having to take her away. Being captured hurt Gorsefur more obviously, but Shadowsong still carried hidden scars. But the proud she-cat couldn't back down. "You're o-on WaterClan territory," she snarled. "You need to leave," Silverflower meowed, sounding angrier then I've ever heard her. "Unfortunately, that will not be an option," Creamwhisker meows languidly. Her warriors rise around her and Shadowsong bristles. "Besides, as you've obviously noticed, there are more of us then there are of you." "What are you doing here?" I ask, trying to sound like Gorsefur does, crisp and cool. Creamwhisker turns to me, "Would you believe me if I said we were here hunting foxes?" "You might as well go home," I meow, "That's why we're here too." "Wow! We can be best friends now!" a snarky tortoiseshell meows, overly perky. "Hush, Dapplecloud." Creamwhisker orders. She tips her head. "You are here for the foxes as well?" Gulping, I nod. "Unfortunately, we will have to take care of this matter ourselves," she meows, "These particular foxes have been terrorizing our side of the border and disappearing back here. I have been ordered to kill them and I will do so." "That won't happen," Shadowsong meows, trembling and trying to hide it. "Well, I don't think our leader would mind if we brought back a couple of WaterClan prisoners," Creamwhisker smirks. "Or killed a couple." Shadowsong is freaking out at this point and Silverflower doesn't have all that much training for battle. Don't fight battles you can't win, Gorsefur's voice urges me. "Wait!" I meow, "I'm sure we can work something-" "Die, WaterClan scum," Creamwhisker growls. She flicks her tail and the FireClan squad rushes at us. Category:Artimas Hunter's Fanfics Category:WFW 1 Category:Action